Lawyers for Tops Supermarket Shooter Want Death Penalty Trial Moved to NYC
The white man who killed 10 Black people in a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, N.Y., three years ago is back in the headlines.
Lawyers for Payton Gendron are requesting to move his death penalty-eligible trial to New York City, writing in a court filing that it would be difficult to seat a diverse and impartial jury in the upstate city.
As reported by AP News, since about 85% of Buffalo’s Black residents live in East Buffalo, where the shooting occurred, Gendron’s lawyers contend that many would be prevented from serving on the jury because of ties to the racially motivated case.
“If the verdict in this case is to carry any moral authority, it should be delivered by a diverse group of citizens. But, given the history of segregation in Buffalo, that is exceedingly unlikely” if the case is tried in Buffalo, they said.
Gendron is currently serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty in November 2022 to multiple state charges, including murder. On May 14, 2022, the then-18-year-old Gendron livestreamed himself roaming the parking lot and aisles of a Tops Buffalo store with a semiautomatic rifle, shooting 13 shoppers and employees, 10 of them fatally.
Gendron carefully planned and carried out the shooting “to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar acts,” according to a criminal complaint.
Last year, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the government would seek the death penalty in a parallel federal case charging him with hate crimes and weapons counts. The trial is scheduled to start in September.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the shooting, Tops and the community surrounding the Jefferson Avenue store have worked toward healing. After a temporary shutdown, the store underwent a full renovation that included improved security features in time for its July 2022 reopening. Additionally, the Williamsville, N.Y.-based grocer teamed with the nonprofit National Compassion Fund to establish the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund to provide direct financial assistance to the survivors of those who lost their lives and people directly affected by the tragedy.
Last year, Tops formally dedicated a 5/14 Tops Honor Space at the supermarket in remembrance of the victims. Built and designed in collaboration with local partners and community members, it serves as a permanent place of honor, solace and reflection.
